


The overdue birthday

by BronzeDragon13



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:22:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25206919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronzeDragon13/pseuds/BronzeDragon13
Summary: Buck hasn't celebrated his birthday in years. The Diaz boys decide to change that.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 6
Kudos: 289





	The overdue birthday

Buck doesn’t celebrate his birthday. Actually, he hasn’t since he was a kid, probably around eight, which was when his parents decided that eight years of acknowledging the day was enough. It doesn’t bother him, not anymore, so he never brings up when his birthday. It’s not like he is hiding it; in fact, Bobby would be able to see the date on any of his forms, and someone was really curious, they could check his drivers license.

He doesn’t do anything special on the day. There is no cake, no presents, nothing.

Maddie is different; she likes to do something for her birthday. Sometimes it’s going out to a nicer restaurant, or seeing a show, or going on a weekend getaway. She likes getting a fancy cake, claims she hates it when people sing but lights up anyway when the song is over, and keeps each birthday card on her fridge for months until the next holiday rolls around. The only person that has given him a card is Maddie. Buck enjoys it, but it never stays visible for very long, and a couple of days later it’s tucked away.

Birthdays are not something that Buck has ever really gotten the hang of, at least when it is his own, so he doesn’t spend too much time on it. Instead, he goes all out for other people. Maddie and he always go out for a meal, usually followed up by some sort of activity, before returning for a glass or two of wine and a movie. He’s celebrated everyone else’s birthday, too. Helped make the dessert, pin up the decorations, sign the communal card that floats around each year. Buck is specific in his gifts, making sure it’s a good mix between practical and fun, remembering any mentions of a specific item.

So, he doesn’t really understand why, suddenly in the last week, everyone is acting differently. Buck knows when something is going on and it starts with Chimney. Chimney can’t act innocent for a single cent. He’s also been throwing Buck looks all shift, coupled with shoving his phone into his pant pocket, and has been speaking in a whispered voice to Hen and then stopping abruptly when Buck enters the vicinity. Buck has been trying to keep cool about it. But, after the lawsuit, hearing whispers and his name doesn’t exactly help his seemingly constant anxiety.

Which leaves him with two options. Confront Chimney and ask him what’s going on or ignore it and assume things will go back to normal by the next shift. Option one isn’t desirable, Buck doesn’t want to call Chimney out, and if it turns into a fight it’ll be worse. Buck hates fighting and especially hates it when it’s between those that he is close with. So, option two is looking pretty good. Ignoring it might work. Buck is fairly close to being done for the day and he can hide out in an area away from Chimney until it’s time to leave.

What he doesn’t count on is Eddie. Eddie, who has also picked up on the hushed tones and quick glances, and has decided that he would rather be glued to Buck’s side than anywhere else in the fire house.

“Is there a reason you’re trailing me?” Buck asks, trying hard not to let his annoyance show.

Eddie shrugs and pops out a short, “Nope.”

“Then why are you following me into the bathroom?”

“Maybe I have to go, too.”

“Okay,” Buck says after a few moments of Eddie not moving. “Then maybe you should.”

Walking into the empty restroom, Buck veers off into a stall, preferring the short-lived privacy. After doing his business, Buck exits to wash his hands, not seeing Eddie there. Shaking his head, Buck dries his hands and decides that maybe he can escape to one of the trucks out back. He’s lucky; one of them isn’t in use, so he hops into the cab and gets comfortable. After going through several articles on his phone, and scrolling around Instagram, Buck makes his way back inside. Eddie is seated with Hen and Chimney, heads tilted together, whispering.

Buck glances at the clock; less than ten minutes left till he’s done. Instead of going up to see his friends, Buck goes to the locker room, dragging out his routine of getting changed and putting away his stuff. It works, so he grabs his bag, pocket’s his wallet and phone, and heads for his car.

Just as he’s about to get in his car, he hears, “Buck, wait a second!” Eddie is jogging towards him.

“Did I forget something?”

“Other than saying bye? No,” Eddie leans against the door. “There a reason you’ve been avoiding us the last hour?”

“There a reason why you all are whispering when I’m around?” Buck fires back. Eddie’s eyes widen a bit, like he wasn’t aware of it, and Buck tosses his bag over the front seat and onto the passenger side.

“No,” Eddie answers, slowly, and looks away. Buck narrows his eyes. Eddie is lying, he can’t keep eye contact when he lies, and Buck is not here for it.

“Right,” Buck crosses his arms. “Do you want to try that again and tell me the truth?” He should be having this kind of conversation with a child, not his best friend. Eddie bites his lip, another habit when he lies, and sighs.

“I can’t,” Eddie finally replies. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“You’ve been sworn to secrecy?” Buck repeats. “By who?”

“That would give part of it away,” Eddie says. “Look, I’m sorry if it stressed you out, but it’s nothing bad. I promise.” Buck wonders if his anxiousness was really that obvious. Then again, he did hide away from the rest of the team, and Buck only does that if he’s feeling bad or stressed.

“It’s fine,” Buck can live with this. If Eddie says that it’s fine, then it probably is. “I’m going to head out now.”

“Are we seeing you tonight?” Their relationship is still new, only a few months old, and Buck has tried to find that balance between being a good boyfriend and solid best friend.

“I think I’m going to go back to my place,” Buck would rather go see Eddie and Christopher, but he’s tired, and he can let his mind run wild within the comfort of his own walls without anyone calling him out.

“If you’re sure,” Eddie steps in, so that he’s knocking knees with Buck. “Come over if you change your mind.”

Eddie moves to cup the back of his neck, giving the perfect angle for a kiss, and Buck melts. He was always a tactile person, way before Eddie came into his life, and kissing him seems like Buck has won a prize every time. It helps that Eddie has grown more confident in being the one to initiate.

“Drive safe,” Eddie reminds him and Buck agrees to. He’ll text Eddie when he gets to his apartment, knowing that it will take one less thing for Eddie to worry about off his mind.

\-----

Being at his apartment is nice for the first hour. Buck showers, music blasting from his phone, and then throws on his softest t-shirt and shorts. He isn’t very hungry, so he sags into his couch, clicking on the TV. After a few minutes of channel surfing, he finds an old movie, and watches it while he dozes on the pillow mushed under his cheek. His shift wasn’t that exhausting, there wasn’t even that many calls, it just feels like his body is drained.

He must have fallen asleep, because when he wakes up, it’s dark outside and his stomach is grumbling. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Buck makes his way to the kitchen, deciding on making a simple stir-fry, grabbing the ingredients while checking his phone. There’s a couple of text messages, mainly from Eddie, and one from Hen.

>>> Eddie: So, would you say that you are particular to events held in the home or at a secondary location?

>>>Do you own any climbing gloves that aren’t work issued?

>>>Christopher missed you today.

Placing the frozen bag of vegetables on the stove, Buck quickly types out a response. Eddie’s shift had ended over an hour ago, and all the messages were sent shortly after he would have gotten home.

<<< I’m okay with either, why? And no, I don’t own any. I missed Christopher, too.

Christopher had been elated when he found out that his Dad and Buck were dating. In fact, Christopher had even gone so far as to write out and list potential date ideas. The list was still plastered to the fridge at Eddie’s; out of the nineteen different ideas, they had only gotten to three. They might be dating at last, but there were still things that needed to be done, including work, Christopher’s therapies and school, and other bland adult chores. Date nights, unless planned several weeks in advance, happened on the fly and usually inhouse.

Not that Buck minded. Eddie and Christopher were a package deal and Buck could live with that.

While waiting for Eddie’s response, he opened Hen’s message.

>>> Hen: Chocolate or coffee?

<<< For what?

Buck had barely set his phone down before it was buzzing with another message.

>>> Hen: For a flavor. Which is your favorite?

Buck frowned. That was oddly specific.

<<< Coffee is good, I guess. Why?

>>> Hen: No reason, thanks.

Well, now he was worried. His continued attempts didn’t go anywhere; Hen had her read receipts on, but didn’t answer. While he threw together his meal, he called Eddie.

“Hey,” Eddie sounded out of breath.

“Did I interrupt something?” Buck asked.

“Nope, just out for a jog.”

“Is Christopher with you?”

“Uh, no.”

“So, who’s watching him?” Buck knows Eddie; Christopher is always accounted for. He wouldn’t just leave for a jog unless someone was there to keep an eye on the kid.

“Abuela stopped over.”

Abuela hasn’t had a working car in weeks. Buck doesn’t know why he’s trying to find the fault in Eddie’s responses. It isn’t like his boyfriend would willingly try to give him the run around.

“Okay,” Buck concedes. “Is there a reason you asked about the gloves?”

“I was just curious. Christopher had an idea, that’s all.”

“What’s the idea?”

“You’ll see it on the list the next time you come over. Consider it an incentive,” Eddie says while he skirts around the question.

“You wouldn’t happen to know why Hen was texting me earlier, would you? About flavors or something?” There’s a pause and Buck’s mouth presses into a thin line.

“If I tell you yes, will you let it go?” Eddie asks softly. Buck wants to press the issue. Wants to find out what’s going on. He would, and the words are on his tongue, only to fade away just as quick. Eddie hardly ever asks anything of him. Whatever is going on, it seems important, so Buck pushes down the questions.

“Yeah,” Buck stirs his food, not feeling hungry anymore, and tries not to wilt as silence invades the line.

“Look, it’s nothing bad. In fact, I’m really excited about this, so, please, just work with me,” Eddie doesn’t offer any explanation, although there is now a note of excitement in his tone, one that wasn’t there before.

“Sure, I can do that,” Buck knows how to make the words flow, make his voice sound alright, and it works.

Eddie jumps into another conversation, steering away any chance for Buck finding additional information, the two of them talking until Buck’s done cooking and Christopher is asking for help in the background. Buck takes only a few bites before throwing the rest into a plastic container, walking up the steps to his bed. Eddie might claim that he’s excited about whatever this is, and Buck wants to be, but he hates to not knowing part.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t sleep well that night.

\-----

Things pick up and soon Buck doesn’t have a lot of time to ponder the strange conversations he’s had with Eddie or the odd behavior of his friends. There’s a small earthquake, nothing near the magnitude of the one a few years ago, and all the stations are working around the clock. Buck pulls doubles throughout the week, sleeping at the station, and once at Eddie’s, too tired to drive the additional twenty minutes to his place.

The rest of June goes by without much fuss, and soon they are a few weeks into July. Buck, who has been working crazy hours lately, can’t seem to find much energy beyond having some movie nights with Christopher and one semi-fancy dinner with Eddie when they decided to do a home date night. Eddie understands, knows the demands of the job better than anyone Buck’s ever dated before, and doesn’t seem to mind that Buck is normally asleep an hour after his shift is done.

Buck blames his inability to notice the sheet of paper on the table when he first comes home on a good bit of exhaustion. Eddie is working through the night, Christopher at Abuela’s, and Buck came back to his apartment to swap out clothes and sleep. There’s enough of his stuff at Eddie’s that he could probably get by for a few more days, but he’s out of work shirts, and Eddie’s run about a size too small for him. That, and Eddie’s washing machine is finicky, prone to stopping midway through a cycle. After some sleep, and coffee, Buck finally sees the paper.

It’s done in Christopher’s handwriting; Buck would know those marker strokes anywhere. He’s got a whole side of his fridge and part of the wall to prove it.

SUPER SECRET EVENT, it reads, WILL YOU COME?

There isn’t a date on the paper, Buck flips it to the other side to make sure, and it has the options yes or no scribbled down at the bottom. Taking a pen, Buck circles yes, then sends a picture of the paper to Eddie. Whatever it is, Christopher clearly wants him there, and Buck will make it work. Christopher likes having him come to events, big or small, and maybe this is one of those new date ideas he’s always talking about. The nine-year-old might not fully understand dating, still thinks girls are kind of weird, and is content to know that his favorite adults are happy with one another.

Eddie sends a thumbs up emoji back. When Buck asks him what the event is, Eddie never responds.

\-----

During his next time out with Maddie, they wind up at a little café, ordering tall cups of coffee before walking the streets together. It’s sunny out, not too hot yet, just the kind of weather Buck has come to love after living in LA for so long.

“So, any plans for your birthday this year?” Maddie asks. Buck pauses in the middle of taking a drink, and quickly swallows.

“Uh, no, not really,” Buck says. “You know I don’t really do anything for it.”

“Well, I was just curious,” Maddie shrugs and points out a new shop that they hadn’t been inside of yet. It’s an off handed question, the kind that Maddie should know the answer to by now. He’s never done anything for his birthday, treats it like any other day, and fully intends to keep doing it.

Maddie doesn’t understand it; her birthday was celebrated each year, their parents inviting over friends and family, planning the party weeks in advance. Buck never got that. For his eight birthday, the last one, he got to invite one friend over and they shared a small pack of gas station cupcakes. Money was tight and it was the best his parents could be bothered to do. There were no decorations, or family spread throughout the house, and Buck’s friend was gone hours before bedtime. That night, before he went to sleep, his dad came in and said that he wouldn’t be getting another birthday celebration.

“You’re big enough now, you don’t need it,” He said. “You understand, right?”

Eight-year-old Buck said yes and present-day Buck didn’t challenge it.

\-----

Eddie has three closets in his apartment. The first is in his room, the second in Christopher’s, and the last one is right by the front door. Normally, Buck doesn’t bother to go through the one by the door. However, breakfast had gotten a bit messier than usual, resulting in some spilled cereal on the floor and half a glass of milk soaking the chair and Chris’s pajama bottoms. Eddie was tasked with cleaning up the milk spill while Chris changed, leaving Buck with the job of getting the broom.

Reaching into the closet, Buck spots the broom and dust pan, noticing a moment later that there’s a gift bag stored in the corner. It’s unused, and empty, but Buck can’t think of a reason as to why it’s there. Christopher’s birthday is still four months off, Eddie’s passed already, and there are no upcoming parties with any of Christopher’s friends. Shrugging, Buck grabs the broom, and heads back into the kitchen. The rest of the day goes by smoothly.

The next time Buck opens up the closet, the bag is gone.

\-----

He's been living in LA for four years, friends with those that work at 118, in addition to others associated with them, for three. The first year, when he was in the academy, Buck didn’t celebrate. In fact, he spent his birthday doing drills, learning the manuals, and treating it like any other day. The next year, he was a probie, and that first year of being an actual fire fighter was such a mess that Buck didn’t bother to make the day a big deal. The following two years were rough; between injuries, and fights, and everything else, Buck didn’t want to celebrate.

His life was finally getting back into a good spot, both with himself and his loved ones, and Buck didn’t want to ruin it by asking for something that he generally ignored for most of his life. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t see it coming. When he looks back on it, Buck will laugh at all the obvious signs that he missed, and take the jokes with a smile. The week of his birthday, Buck is informed that there has been a swap to the schedule. The shift he was supposed to work, which happened to fall on his birthday, was being traded off for another worker.

Buck didn’t mind; the guy was a new dad, had been trying to get better hours, and Buck wasn’t hurting for cash. Ironically, his birthday also falls on a Saturday. Which, weirdly enough, no one else seems to be working. When Buck wakes up Saturday morning, there are quite a few messages on his phone. Several are from Eddie, mainly telling him that he needs help doing some errands, and one from Athena. Eddie’s are mainly local stuff, but Athena’s would involve him going across town. Not that Buck minds.

He’s always willing to help, and Athena had asked nicely, explaining that she was working, Michael and Bobby were busy, and May didn’t have the car to go herself. Less than an hour later, Buck is dressed and on the road. He does Eddie’s stuff first, since none of it needed to be refrigerated, and then starts the drive out to the destination Athena texted him. It was close to nine o’clock when he left his apartment; by the time he’s done, and heading back home, it’s leaning more towards one. Just as he’s about to get onto the highway, his phone goes off. Buck, ever thankful that he’s got Bluetooth, hits the button on his steering wheel to answer.

“Hi, Eddie,” Buck greets as he double checks his mirrors.

“Buck!” That is not the voice of his boyfriend.

“Chimney, what are you doing with Eddie’s phone?” Buck asks as a wave of anxiety crashes over him. Eddie wouldn’t just give his phone away unless something had happened. “Did something happen? Is Eddie okay?”

“Woah, easy, Eddie’s fine,” Chimney rushes to say. “Just has his hands full at the moment.” Wherever Chimney is right now, the background is pretty loud.

“And the reason you have his phone to call me?” Buck asked.

“Like, I said, his hands are full. Where are you at right now?”

“On the highway,” Buck answers. “

Good, good. Take your time driving. You’re heading back to Eddie’s house?”

“Considering I got all his stuff in my backseat, yes. I need to drop off May’s thing at Athena’s and Bobby’s first.”

“Great! Do that, then come back to Eddie’s.”

“Why-“ Buck doesn’t get a chance to continue since the call ends. Frowning, Buck glares at his phone, before focusing back on the road.

\-----

Going to Athena and Bobby’s house isn’t difficult, the route practically memorized at this point, and it isn’t long before he’s pulling into the driveway. Only, there doesn’t appear to be anyone home. Athena had given him a spare key, in case of emergencies, not that dropping off a package is considered one. He texts Athena, asking where he should leave it, and waits for close to five minutes before getting a response. He used the key, bringing the box into the foyer, and then locked up again.

Buck glanced down at the clock on his dashboard; there was still plenty of time left in the day to go and see his favorite boys. He hit traffic on the way to Eddie’s, which always happened in LA, so Buck just listened to his radio while the cars in front of him creeped forward. Almost an hour later, he was pulling into Eddie’s driveway, eyes narrowing at the multiple cars lined up on the street. Just as he’s opening the backseat door, to grab the plastic bags sitting on the floor, a set of arms wrap around his waist.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Buck laughed. Eddie squeezed tighter and took the bags from him, placing them back down on the seat, and spun Buck around. Then, Buck having to lean down a bit because of the slight height difference, Eddie was kissing him.

“Hey,” Eddie was beaming. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Buck gestured to the cars. “Did I miss a memo or something?” Eddie smirked.

“I’m breaking so many rules right now, I just want to give you a heads up,” Eddie cups his face. “I know your birthday is today. And, well, the rest of us kind of noticed that we never really did anything for it. Maddie gave us some insight, nothing major, just enough for us to want to do something nice for you.” Buck is speechless for a moment.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“I want too,” Eddie corrects. “We all do. Christopher was adamant and has been planning for weeks.”

“That’s why everyone was acting weird,” It makes sense, all the whispering, texting, odd behavior. Honestly, Buck is touched. Outside of Maddie, no one else has given his birthday much recognition.

“Yeah,” Eddie pulls him closer, so that there is no space left between them. “I don’t want to spoil anything else.” Buck raises an eyebrow. “Hush, you’ll like it, just try to act surprised when you come in.”

“Like the half dozen other cars didn’t give it away that something was up?”

\-----

When they enter the house, Buck can hear muffled whispering and giggles. He plays along, he and Eddie talking about something random, which is only half true, since Eddie is looking through the items in the bag, some of them being ones that Buck grabbed on a whim. Three steps into the living room, and Buck jumps despite knowing what was coming, everyone yelling surprise. It makes him remember the failed welcome back party, just for a second, before Buck pushes those thoughts away.

There are plenty of hugs; Christopher is the first, practically tackling his legs, mouth going a mile a minute to explain everything. It’s a nice, homey set-up. There’s music playing in the background, enough food and drink for everyone, and Hen promised him that she managed to get his favorite red velvet cake from the bakery they both love. As the party goes on, Buck comes to learn just how long this had been in the works.

It had started with Christopher, asking when everyone’s birthday was; he had gotten a large calendar, was charting all the important holidays, and wanted to add birthdays so he could make nice cards. Which led to Eddie saying he wasn’t sure when Buck’s birthday was. He had asked the team, who came to realize they didn’t know, and then they went to Maddie. She told them the date, explained why Buck never really celebrated it, and thus, the plan was formed.

While the party is mostly adults, the kids of the team are there, and at the instances of Christopher and Denny, the team plays several party games; Denny is a fan of musical chairs and Buck doesn’t think he has ever seen Bobby so competitive. Eddie’s floor might have suffered, but everyone is laughing, so it is worth it. They eat and have a minor frosting fight when Chimney tries to push his face into the cake. There are presents; Christopher insists on sitting with him, which means that Denny ends up right there, as well, and Harry isn’t about the be left out, so he’s got three kids hanging off him.

In addition to Maddie's annual card, there are others from his friends. The giant gift bag, which had been hidden in Eddie's closet weeks ago, is what's used to hold the present. A pair of new climbing gloves, booklet, and tickets to an adventure park. It advertises different rocking climbing, in addition to a modified course for children, which means Christopher can come along. The tickets are dated for the end of the month and Buck is already thrumming with excitement. 

Later, once the party has winded down, the guests have left, Eddie and Buck are sitting on the couch. Christopher is sleeping between them.

“Did you have a good birthday?”

“The best,” Buck is still smiling, feeling lighter than he has in months.

“So, we can do this again next year?” Eddie asks, hopeful.

“If it makes you this happy.”

“It does,” Eddie insists, cuddling him and Christopher close, “It really does. Happy birthday, mi amor.”

As the two of them fall asleep, Buck thinks he could get use to this.

Maybe celebrating isn’t all the bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment or kudos if you wish :)


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